For many years, riding off-road vehicles, such as snowmobiles and all terrain vehicles (ATVs), has become a major organized recreational sport. In the province of Ontario alone, there are approximately 40,000 kilometers of snowmobile trails. Many of these trails are maintained by groomers, which are typically approximately 3 meters (10 feet) wide and thus maintain a trail width of at least 3 meters. The average off-road motor vehicle is approximately 1.3 meters (4 feet) in width. However, due to the nature of an off-road environment, many portions of such trails provide very little room for off-road vehicles to pass one another.
Over the years, a hand signal courtesy protocol has evolved to avoid accidents between off-road vehicles. With a legal maximum posted speed of 50 kilometers per hour (km/hr), or in some areas 70 km/hr, the approaching speed of oncoming vehicles can exceed 100 km/hr on a trail or roadway, with little more than a few feet of clearance, leaving very little room for error.
As an example of a protocol that has developed to avoid accidents, in a group of off-road vehicles such as snowmobiles or ATVs, the leader will provide a warning to oncoming traffic and the drivers in their own group by raising their left hand as a signal. For example, in a typical off-road trail protocol, the lead driver in each approaching group provides a warning of an oncoming vehicle to the others in their group that are following, by raising their left hand. The lead driver will also signal the approaching vehicle by raising a number of fingers to indicate the number of vehicles following the leader in the group. The second driver in the group does the same, and this protocol is repeated until the last driver raises a clenched fist to indicate to the oncoming vehicle that it is the last vehicle in the group.
However, given the speeds of approaching vehicles, the narrow width of such trails, and the unevenness and irregular surface jutting back and forth in tracks formed by previous vehicles, this protocol still presents dangers to approaching vehicles, particularly in times of limited visibility. Furthermore, a danger is presented in this conventional method of warning oncoming vehicles by requiring the driver of each vehicle to remove one hand from the vehicle's steering means.
It would be advantageous to provide a system for warning motor vehicles and others of approaching traffic or hazards, and indicating the number of vehicles approaching.